Dare a Kiss
by Wile
Summary: Hermione takes a dare, but what's the outcome? Two points of view.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Don't own them, JKR does. I'm borrowing.  
  
A/N: Just a plot bunny I couldn't get rid of.  
  
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Hermione's POV  
  
Why Hermione took the dare, she would never know. It had been one of those spur of the moment things that she couldn't turn down. Okay, so she had been playing Truth or Dare with Harry, Ginny, Ron, Parvati, and Lavender, but that was beside the point. No one would have thought anything less of her if she had said she wouldn't do it. Hermione had graduated top of her class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, everyone had graduated that afternoon (excepting Ginny who had one year left), and the Leaving Feast was upon them. For a little last minute fun, the group had decided to play the game with a twist. No truths, only dares, one per person, and it had to be something they would never do otherwise.  
  
Hermione was looking across the room, waiting for that opportune moment to fulfill her dare. She thought back to that late afternoon get together.  
  
::::::::::Flashback::::::::::  
  
"Everyone knows the rules then?" Harry asked. There were five nods of understanding. "Okay, um, Lavender."  
  
"Why do I have to be first? Why can't one of you guys do it?" Lavender asked.  
  
Harry responded, "Because I chose you first."  
  
"Fine, let's make this quick."  
  
"Lavender, you have to give McGonagall a note saying 'Severus Snape is a sex god, ask me about it. Signed, M. McGonagall' You also need give her another note saying you know what she's been doing with Snape all these years, and you want to know more.  
  
Lavender accepted. She chose Parvati next who made a face at her best friend, but accepted her task. "Parvati, your dare is to read a story from this porn magazine out loud during the feast." This brought a giggle from Harry and Ron. Parvati took the magazine grumbling, but she said she would do it.  
  
Parvati dared Ginny next. "Your dare is to show up at the feast wearing only your underwear." Ron blushed furiously at the thought of seeing that much of his sister. Harry was grinning at Ginny like a madman. She hit him on the arm playfully.  
  
"If I have to do it, then Ron has to as well so it's a family thing," Ginny announced.  
  
"Ugh, fine. Just don't make me do it ever again. Hermione, you're next."  
  
"What do I have to do Ron?"  
  
"You have to kiss Snape in front of everyone at the feast tonight."  
  
Everyone stared at Ron like he'd just become Voldemort incarnate. "Ron you've finally gone off your rocker!" Harry yelled at him. A chorus of "yeah" and "uh huh" arose from the rest of the group except Hermione.  
  
"I'll do it." She received the stare next.  
  
"Being Head Girl finally get to you 'Mione?" Ginny asked.  
  
"No, I said I would do it. It's only fair if the rest of you have to do this crazy stuff. Oh, Harry, you're next." This diverted the group enough for them to finish assigning the tasks. "You have to hit on Malfoy. Get him aroused, and make it very public.."  
  
"Eww," Ron said. "That has to be worse than kissing Snape."  
  
"If you do yours, Hermione, I'll do mine," Harry replied.  
  
::::::::::End Flashback::::::::::  
  
So far, Ginny and Ron had completed their dares. Parvati was in the middle of hers, but Hermione was too wrapped up in her thoughts and keeping an eye on Snape to pay attention. Harry's completion of his task depended on her, but she doubted she would be able to pay enough attention to notice Harry and Malfoy.  
  
Hermione picked at her food. Her nerves had settled in her stomach so bad she could hardly eat. She looked up briefly when Parvati sat down to a mix of "eww" and applause. By now eyes were fixed on the Gryffindor table to see who would be the next to try something.  
  
Lavender got up and walked nonchalantly toward the head table. She handed two parchments to Professor McGonagall before returning to the Gryffindor table. McGonagall looked as if she would kill Lavender except that Dumbledore was peering over her shoulder and chuckling. He said a few words to the infuriated professor, and she returned to her dinner looking none to pleased.  
  
Hermione glanced over to Harry who signaled that she was next. She looked to Snape who was getting up to leave. This was the only chance she would get to complete her dare. Her nerves multiplied as she quickly moved to catch the black figure.  
  
"Professor Snape," he whirled around, robes billowing majestically (a/n: would they billow any other way?).  
  
"Miss Granger," He sneered.  
  
Hermione could not explain what exactly prompted her to act so quickly, but in the next moment she knew her lips were on his. The little voice in her head was screaming at her that, of all the unexpected things to happen, Snape was kissing her back, and none to gently. What was worse, she was responding. As soon as her brain caught up, she stopped, completely moved away from him, and fled. The dare had turned around so quickly. Nothing registered as she ran from the Great Hall, trying to get away from the experience of being kissed by Snape. She never noticed the figure following her or the smile of acknowledgment from Dumbledore.  
  
"Miss Granger," the voice behind her was silky sweet, but she kept running. She did not want to face him, tell him it was only a dare. It was a betrayal, and she could not do it. The hand that tightly gripped her arm and turned her around stopped her forward momentum. She was facing him, but she could not look him in the eye.  
  
"Miss Granger . . . Hermione." She still would not face him.  
  
"Professor, I'm sorry. I can't . . ." Everything came tumbling from her mouth. "I can't do this. It was a dare. I am sorry, but I just can't." She turned away from him and started walking back to her private quarters. She desperately needed to be alone at the moment to process everything that had just happened. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of looking back at him. For the first time in her life, Hermione saw an emotion on the face of Severus Snape. Tears were silently falling from his eyes as the pain he was feeling prominently played on his features.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
The events of the night weighed heavily on her heart as she stared into the fire. Crookshanks had tried getting into her lap, but she had shooed him away. Hermione wanted to be alone. Of all the people, she had to be the one dared to kiss Snape. She had been the one who had captured his previously believed black heart. Under the exterior was a man who loved and longed just as much as anyone else, and Hermione had deprived him of the one thing he wanted.  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
Hermione reluctantly awoke in the morning. She had not slept well at all thinking of what she had done. Only one option played in her mind over and over. She did not know if she was up to it, or if it was her decision to make anymore, but she was going to do it.  
  
Breakfast was a somber affair for her. The whole hall was bubbling about the shenanigans of the group last night, but no one dared mention Hermione or Snape's name. She was not even sure anyone even knew about it since she had caught up with Snape in the hallway. Harry reassured her that no one knew. Not even the rest of the group. Harry only knew because he ran into a very irritated Snape on his way back to the dormitory the night before.  
  
Hermione looked at the head table and immediately noticed the empty seat. She was not hungry herself. After ten minutes, she excused herself. When asked by her friends what was wrong, she said she would be fine. They were not to worry about her.  
  
Hermione wandered for a while before ending in front the Potions classroom. She took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and opened the door.  
  
"Miss Granger, if you wish to torment me further, you might as well just kill me first," came the broken voice of the man she was looking for.  
  
"I don't know if it means anything now to you or not, but I'm in love with you."  
  
"Spare the apologies. I know the truth already. You told me yourself. Don't try and fix this!" Snape yelled vehemently. He was bearing over her now.  
  
She was not going to be intimidated. "Severus Snape, it hurts me just as much as it hurts you. Why do you think I ran? When you responded, I knew what it had been all these years. I knew why I'd always had special treatment. It wasn't because of my achievements. You were manifesting your feelings in a different, less obvious way."  
  
"Leave, Miss Granger. Just get out while you can. I am not the kind of man you should want to be with, nor am I the one you should be with." He'd backed off and turned away from her. His voice was shaky, but resolute.  
  
"Severus . . ."  
  
"It's Professor Snape or Sir to you."  
  
"Severus . . ." she pushed. She was not going to give up on him that easily.  
  
"Hermione!" He flat out began yelling at her. "If you do not leave, I will not be held responsible for my actions. You can say you love me, but I have no proof. It was a dare. You've completed it. Move on. If your goal was to break me, you have accomplished it. Get out of my life! I do not . . ."  
  
Hermione kissed him. She had run out of options. Tears came spilling from her eyes as she did so. She was desperate. He did not respond. After a few seconds, he pushed her away. Hermione landed on the cold, hard floor, crying harder than ever. She never knew heartbreak until that moment, and she did not care if he knew it or not.  
  
Snape could only look at her for a moment. Did she really feel that much for him? Had he pushed away his only chance at a lasting, happy, and loving relationship. Merlin, he hoped not.  
  
"Miss Granger," he began softly. "Hermione, please, I . . I'm so sorry." He had started to cry as well. Hermione wanted to run now, but her legs would not move. "Merlin, I didn't mean to . . to . . . forgive me, please? I don't want to ruin my only chance, but you hurt me so much. I'm too stubborn, I know, but please?" By the end, he was kneeling in front of her as she sat, crying. Her tears were trailing off slowly. "I don't know what to do without you." She did not know what to do without him. So much of Hermione's life had come to revolve around the man before her. She did not know how or why, but she knew when she realized it. It was in that moment that she had broken his heart.  
  
Hermione hugged him, and they sat, sobbing into each other's shoulder. "Severus, I should have just told you. I went about this the wrong way. I'm sorry."  
  
"You're forgiven, but how you can ever forgive me . . ."  
  
That was an easy one. "I love you. That's enough to forgive you. Promise me this will never happen again."  
  
They looked each other in the eye. Snape wiped the stray tears from Hermione's cheek, kissed her forehead gently, and said, "As long as we're together, this will never happen again. Oh, Hermione, you're the only person I've ever loved. I love you so much. How you could ever love me, I don't know, but I will make sure that I'm the only one who will ever steal your heart."  
  
"You're cute, sexy, really smart, and I love you. I'll make sure I'm the only one who possesses your heart."  
  
They smiled at one another and engaged in a very passionate kiss. The whistle of the train could be heard as they pulled apart.  
  
"Hermione, I think you missed the your ride home."  
  
"I am home." 


	2. Snape's POV

Snape's POV  
  
Severus Snape did not appreciate the wayward glances he was receiving at the Leaving Feast from one Hermione Granger, top student of her graduating class. If Snape had had his way, he would not have even been present. However, Dumbledore, being the ever-insistent headmaster he was, enforced the rule that all teachers must be present. Thus, Snape sat, forced to take part in the shenanigans of the evening. Had he known what would take place, he would have either never come at all or looked forward to it.  
  
Ron and Ginny Weasley's initial arrival had more or less set the mood for the night. McGonagall had immediately sent them back to the dormitories and made them wait an extra hour to come back to dinner for coming in their underwear. Shortly after the two came back, Parvati Patil broke into a very inappropriate story about a slut and her latest conquest. Why no one dared to stop the nonsense, Snape could not figure out, but he was oddly enjoying the show. If someone had asked him, though, he would have fiercely denied it.  
  
'Probably just the fact it's those pompous Gryffindors behind all this nonsense,' he thought. 'Finally they're good for something.'  
  
At the finish of his thought, he smirked slightly, but quickly changed it to a frown when he noticed Hermione once again looking at him. He was growing noticeably uncomfortable. She had never once shown this much interest in him, a fact he found disturbing. The Gryffindor graduating class was up to something and Snape was not sure he wanted to know what.  
  
He decided it was about time to excuse himself from all of it when Parvati finished to a chorus of applause. No sooner had she finished when Lavender Brown stood and walked toward the head table. She was carrying two pieces of parchment. Upon arriving at the head table, she gave both papers to Professor McGonagall and proceeded to return to her seat.  
  
McGonagall was first shocked, but the look that followed bordered on the edge of insanity and bloody murder. In all his years teaching at Hogwarts, Snape could not recall Minerva McGonagall look as if she would turn violent on the spot. If Dumbledore had not been next to her, Snape thought she might just have cursed Lavender off the face of the planet.  
  
"Minerva, do calm down. It is just a joke after all," Snape heard Dumbledore say. This apparently calmed McGonagall down enough for the moment. Snape took this as his opportunity to leave. He did not want to become part of a Gryffindor joke. He was a likely target after all, being reputed as the meanest and most strict teacher currently residing in the school.  
  
Snape excused himself from the table. He'd had enough noise and pranks for one evening. Now he just needed some peace and quiet. He only made it as far as the hall leading to the dungeon.  
  
"Professor Snape." It was Hermione Granger, who else. No wonder she was watching him like a hawk. He was her prank. It figured.  
  
So he sneered at her. "Miss Granger."  
  
Snape had barely said her name before her lips were on his. It took him a moment to realize what happened, but he responded in kind. If she was going to kiss him, he might as well return the favor. Besides, he saw nothing wrong in it. Hermione had initiated the kiss, and she was no longer his student.  
  
When Hermione became conscious of what he was doing, she did the only thing that could be expected. She pulled herself from him, turned, and ran away. Although Snape knew it would happen, it hurt nonetheless. She had given him a few things he no longer thought he could feel: Hope and despair.  
  
Perhaps it was the latter that spurred him into action. Not that he would ever know for sure, but Snape needed to talk to Hermione. He ran after her. He had no clue what he would say . . . what she would tell him, but he needed an answer. Finally, he saw her.  
  
"Miss Granger." She did not stop, so he continued after her. When she was within arm's length, he firmly grabbed her and turned her around the face him. She refused to look him in the eye. This did not bode well. Hermione had never been afraid to confront him before. In fact, she usually went out of her way to openly defy him.  
  
"Miss Granger . . . Hermione." Still she did not look at him even though this was the first time he'd used her first name to address her. But she began to speak.  
  
"Professor, I'm sorry. I can't . . I can't do this. It was a dare. I am sorry, but I just can't."  
  
It was true. He was her victim. She started walking away and he let her. Snape could feel the moisture burning in his eyes, but he did nothing to stop it; he just let it flow freely of its own accord. There was no point in stopping it. He knew he should never have let himself manifest the emotion of love, especially toward a student, former or current. Somehow though, he felt as though he could not have stopped the formation of his emotions toward Hermione Granger. She was everything he had ever hoped for in a woman when he was younger.  
  
"Severus, I had hoped it would not turn out this way," Dumbledore said. "Come, we will discuss this in your quarters." Snape could only follow Dumbledore to the Dungeon.  
  
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Snape did not sleep well that night. In fact, he probably did not sleep at all. His pain was too great. Normally he would push it aside and never deal with it, but this he could not just shove to the side. He felt as if he had been deceived. Hermione never seemed the sort, but then, everyone had changed since the death of Voldemort. That was when Snape had realized the true scope of his feelings for Hermione Granger. She fought bravely in the war, selflessly. He might not admit it, but she had saved him a couple of times from Death Eaters that were trying to sneak up on him. Harry may have been lauded as the hero, but Hermione was Snape's hero. He could not let her go that easily. A small part of him still hoped.  
  
Snape did not go to breakfast in the morning. For all he knew, Hermione would be telling everyone what she had done. He could not see her anyway. It was too soon. Forever would be too soon, so breakfast was definitely out of the question. Besides, she would be gone after today and he would not have to see her ever again, unless she truly did mean to come and teach here. No, that would be the day he retired.  
  
His quarters were becoming more and more depressing and were not helping his mood any. Snape thought some work might help, so he went to his classroom. It was not long before he realized that everything reminded him of her. She was everywhere, from the cauldron she had used to help Longbottom to the ingredients she used. Snape sat at his desk, taking it all in. Hermione had more of an effect on him than he wanted. He could feel the tears again and he wasn't going to hold them back.  
  
He heard the door slowly creak open. Even before she entered the room, he knew she was there.  
  
"Miss Granger, if you wish to torment me further, you might as well just kill me first."  
  
"I don't know if it means anything now to you or not, but I'm in love with you."  
  
She did not mean it. He was certain of that. There was the nagging voice that said she might be right, but he would not accept it. Not after what he'd been through.  
  
"Spare the apologies. I know the truth already. You told me yourself. Don't try and fix this!" He'd moved right in front of her by the end.  
  
"Severus Snape, it hurts me just as much as it hurts you. Why do you think I ran? When you responded, I knew what it had been all these years. I knew why I'd always had special treatment. It wasn't because of my achievements. You were manifesting your feelings in a different, less obvious way."  
  
That was the wrong thing to say. He was ready to physically hurt her now, but he held it back. Severus Snape was not a violent man, and he would not be toward a woman no matter what her age.  
  
"Leave, Miss Granger. Just get out while you can. I am not the kind of man you should want to be with, nor am I the one you should be with." He walked away from her while he said this. He needed to be away from her suddenly.  
  
"Severus . . ."  
  
"It's Professor Snape or Sir to you." He would not give in to her.  
  
"Severus . . ."  
  
"Hermione!" Now he was yelling if only to make his point. "If you do not leave, I will not be held responsible for my actions. You can say you love me, but I have no proof. It was a dare. You've completed it. Move on. If your goal was to break me, you have accomplished it. Get out of my life! I do not . . ."  
  
She was kissing him again. His resolve held, firmer than ever even though she was crying. He could feel the tears. He pushed her back and she fell on the floor. She began crying harder.  
  
Snape could only look at her for a moment. Finally, something clicked looking at her so sad. Did she really feel that much for him? Had he pushed away his only chance at a lasting, happy, and loving relationship. Merlin, he hoped not. What he felt toward her he knew would always be there. He would never feel that way about another woman, and the chances one would feel that way about him were small. He needed to fix this.  
  
"Miss Granger," he began softly. "Hermione, please, I . . I'm so sorry." He had started to cry as well. "Merlin, I didn't mean to . . to . . . forgive me, please? I don't want to ruin my only chance, but you hurt me so much. I'm too stubborn, I know, but please?" By the end, he was kneeling in front of her as she sat, crying. Her tears were trailing off slowly. "I don't know what to do without you." And he didn't at that moment. She meant too much to him. It may have been a painful realization, but he knew it as true.  
  
Hermione hugged him, and they sat, sobbing into each other's shoulder. "Severus, I should have just told you. I went about this the wrong way. I'm sorry."  
  
"You're forgiven, but how you can ever forgive me . . ."  
  
That was an easy one. "I love you. That's enough to forgive you. Promise me this will never happen again."  
  
They looked each other in the eye. Snape wiped the stray tears from Hermione's cheek, kissed her forehead gently, and said, "As long as we're together, this will never happen again. Oh, Hermione, you're the only person I've ever loved. I love you so much. How you could ever love me, I don't know, but I will make sure that I'm the only one who will ever steal your heart."  
  
"You're cute, sexy, really smart, and I love you. I'll make sure I'm the only one who possesses your heart."  
  
They smiled at one another and engaged in a very passionate kiss. They heard the train whistle as they pulled apart.  
  
"Hermione, I think you missed the your ride home."  
  
"I am home." 


End file.
